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He told the court: 'I concluded they were involved in taking Helen because of the way he was telling me - there was fear in his face, he was not just joking about this.'

The 51-year-old writer's body was found dumped alongside her beloved dog Boris in a cesspit deep below her £1.5 million property in Royston, Hertfordshire in July 2016.

Stewart, 56, denies charges of murder, fraud, preventing a lawful burial and three counts of perverting the course of justice.

The defendant's other son, Jamie Stewart, told the jury in the murder trial today that he found it inconceivable his father could attack Ms Bailey.

A statement he gave to the court, Jamie, 24, said: 'I cannot see how my dad could have moved her... I said I cannot imagine him wanting to hurt her at all.'

Helen Bailey's dog Boris was also killed to give credence to the theory that she had gone missing because she was 'devoted' to him, the court heard

This is the opening to the 15ft deep cesspit where Ms Bailey was found in raw sewage

He added there had been no obvious problems in the couple's relationship and a statement read to the court said the pair were 'never short of money'.

Jamie told the court that, on the day his father is alleged to have killed Ms Bailey, he had gone to watch him play bowls in Cambridge.

He added that, although it was the final of a competition, his father had been unwell so he did not know if he would turn up.

He said: 'When I went into the bowls club he happened to be just there in front of me - I was a bit surprised to see him there, but I was happy.'

After the game, the pair had a Chinese takeaway together.

Asked if Ms Bailey's whereabouts were mentioned at any stage, he replied: 'No, nothing. I assumed she was home as both her cars were there.'

The murder trial jury have visited the home in Royston, Hertfordshire where she was found

Stewart wanted sell a flat Ms Bailey owned in this development in Gateshead, the court heard

Jamie, said he had never been told by his father about the two men his brother spoke of.

Earlier that same day, a nurse he had seen, Lynn Hull, said Stewart appeared 'distant' and 'spaced out' during an appointment, jurors heard.

He had delayed his appointment from the morning until the afternoon, citing car trouble, jurors were told.

Stewart was said to have had to frequently visit the doctor to have his dressing changed following surgery on his intestines, which had made him 'lethargic and tired', according to his son.

It was the following day that Jamie noticed Ms Bailey was not at home.

He said: 'Normally when you walk through the front door Boris the dog comes bounding up to meet you - I remember that not happening, which was a bit unusual.'

The hatch to the cesspit where Miss Bailey's body was found was later sealed by police

The court heard that on the day he is said to have killed her, Stewart went to play bowls

Stewart told his son that Ms Bailey had left a note saying she had gone to her home in Broadstairs, Kent, and wanted to be left alone.

He told the court he never saw the note and was informed by his father that it had been 'thrown out with the rubbish'.

'Throughout that week, he began to get visibly more stressed out. He was spending a lot more time with myself and my brother and wanting to be around us.'

Several days later he told Jamie he had reported Ms Bailey missing.

'I hadn't been aware that Helen hadn't been in contact with anyone,' he told jurors.

He added: 'Throughout the week he became more and more stressed and over the weekend he was quite frantic and wanted to help the police find her.'

He added that all that appeared to be missing was a raincoat, a pair of Wellington boots and a collar for her dog.

The 51-year-old writer had been missing for three months when police officers opened the hatch to the cesspit under the Jeep (pictured left)

A laser graphic reveals the depth of the cesspit to be 12 to 15ft deep with the manhole cover opening being 56cm by 70cm and the access to the cesspit as 27cm in length

On April 11 2016, when the murder was said to have taken place, the defendant had visited a solicitor with paperwork regarding the sale of the £185,000 property in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.

He claimed he was attending in place of Ms Bailey because she was was 'unwell', solicitor Timothy Penn told the court.

In the weeks after her disappearance, Stewart was in contact with Mr Penn on several occasions and was 'not at all pleased' by the lack of progress, the court heard.

Mr Penn told the court of one phone call: 'He said 'You probably know that Helen is missing and I'm wondering if you can carry on with this transaction in the meantime'.

'I said effectively no. He talked about a power of attorney and I said in these circumstances we would want to hear from Helen.'

The court previously heard that, in 2015, Stewart was given power of attorney alongside Ms Bailey's brother John, allowing him to control her affairs should she become unfit to administer them.

The court heard the dog was killed to make it look like Ms Bailey had gone away on her own

Mr Penn said of one later meeting: 'I do remember on this occasion that he was very anxious and he was not at all pleased to hear the news that we were not able to proceed with the transaction; it didn't go down well.

'He was shrugging his shoulders, he was looking anxious, he was not pleased to hear that information, put it that way.

'I explained to him obviously, with the question mark over where Helen was, there was a question mark over the power of attorney.'

Stewart allegedly told the solicitor he was looking into getting his powers of attorney properly registered.

The court heard that this was required for his powers over Ms Bailey's affairs to become active - and only stood if she was alive.

It is alleged that the killing had 'money as its driving motive', with Stewart in line to be a 'substantial' benefactor of the author's £4 million fortune in the event of her death.